Closure means for flexible-walled containers



A1182 14, 1951 K. E; FREUND ET AL 2,563,929

CLOSURE MEANS FOR FLEXIBLE-WALLED CONTAIN Filed May 14, 1946 Patented Aug. 14, 1951 CLOSURE MEANS FOR FLEXIBLE-WALLED `CONTAINERS Karl E. Freund, Los Angeles, Calif., and Elmer M. Scharenberg, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignors to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York,

. N. Y.,.a corporation of New York Application May 14, 1946, Serial No. 669,652

- 1 Claim.

This invention relates to flexible Wall structures and closure means therefor, and pertains more specifically to iiuid containers With a flexible wall structure having an elongated access opening and closure means for said opening.

One object of the invention is to provide a flexible wall structure with a narrow, elongated opening and a light-Weight closure means, positive in action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fluid container having flexible walls with a narrow, slot-like opening which may readily be enlarged or distorted to provide access to the interior of the container and a closure for the opening which may readily'be inserted and removed.

Another object is to reduce to a minimum the weight of flexible fuel tanks adapted to contain hydrocarbon liquids for use in motor Vehicles such as automobiles, motorboats or airplanes, and still provide a large access opening in the wall of the exible tank to permit convenient inspection and repair of the interior of the tank.

Another object is to provide an arcuate or angular elongated opening in the wall of a flexible fuel tank, and a light-Weight, readily removable closure means therefor, so that the flap-like portion of the wall inside the arc or angle may readily be folded back to allord access to the interior of the tank, and to provide facility in manufacture and convenience in operation.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.

In the appended drawings,

Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of a iiexiblewalled iiuid container provided with three embodiments of the device of this invention with one set of cover plates partly broken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is a view in section along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a View in section along line 3 3 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 4 is a View in section along line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the flexible wall structure I0 comprises one or more layers of textile fabric, paper, or the like, coated or impregnated with synthetic resinous or rubbery material. If the container is to be used for hydrocarbon liquids, such as gasoline or oil, the coating or impregnating material is preferably one which is unaiected by such liquids, for example polychloroprene, butadiene-acrylonitrile synthetic rubber, or the like. Additional thin flexible barrier layers of other materials such as superpolyamides may also be 2 present to reduce diffusion of the liquid through the walls to a minimum.

In a wall of the tank is an elongated slot-like acc-ess opening II having bead I2 around its margin. The bead may be formed from rubber-like material by a molding or extrusion process and secured to wall I0 by any suitable means such as cement or by vulcanizing the parts together. under pressure, or the like, or other suitable flexible bead construction may be provided. The opening I I is sealed by means of a pair of cover plates I' and I4 having trough-like grooves I5 at their margins which lit around .bead I2. The cover plates are clamped together by means of lock nut 66a and bolt I6 secured to inner plate I 3 and extending through the opening II and outer plate I4. In this embodiment the outer lips I'I of the cover plates are designed to be more widely separated than the interior portions of the plates to prevent excessive pressure on the rubber-like material used to make the bead. In this construction the central portion of each plate around the bolt acts as a limit stop to prevent the outer lips II from bearing too heavily on the bead when r the plates are clamped together.

In another embodiment of the invention the elongated opening in the wall of the tank as well as the cover plates 20 and 2| are arcuate in form, as shown in Fig. 1. In this construction the flaplike portion 22 of the Wall structure inside the arc may be folded down, after removal of the cover plates, along a line extending between the ends of the opening. In addition, the central portions of cover plates 2l] and 2| between the marginal bead-receiving grooves are recessed as shown in Fig. 3 so as to nest together and provide a counters-unk construction. The clamping means used in this construction is a closed-end internally threaded tubular rivet 23 having a flange 24 countersunk in the upper surface of plate 2| and at the other surface an upset portion 25 produced by axial compression of the rivet. Screw 26 extending through plate 20 is threaded into rivet 23 and serves to draw the plates together in sealing relationship, with the bead around the margin of the wall opening clamped Ibetween the margins of the plates.

In order further to reduce the weight of the closure, the central portion of one of the plates may be cut away except at the points at which it is clamped to the other plate, as shown at 30 in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 4. In this embodiment the inner plate 3l is made continuous to prevent leakage of the fluid through the opening.

In applying the closure of this invention to the opening the inner plate is rst slipped end-Wise through the opening and held in place manually while one end of the outer plate is loosely clamped to it. The free end of the outer plate is then swung into position and one or more of the intermediate bolts and nuts are loosely threaded together. After all of the bolts and nuts have been loosely threaded, they may be tightened as desired.

In removing the closure, the reverse procedure may be followed. The opening may then be enlarged by spreading the sides apart near the center, or by turning back ap 22. In this manner a Very large opening may be provided with a minimum of added weight for the closure.

Although the precise shape of the opening in the Wall structure is not critical, as is apparent from the description above, it should be elongated, preferably slot-like in nature. The ends of the opening are preferably rounded, as shown in Fig. 1, to provide a continuous bead Without sharp angles for best sealing.

It will be seen that the device of this invention provides a positive-acting closure which can easily and quickly be put in place or removed.

Although specc embodiments of the invention have been herein described, it is not intended that the invention be limited solely thereto, but that it include all the obvious Variations and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

We claim:

A closure for a liquid container having a exible Wall structure with an access opening therein, said closure comprising a exible compressible bead secured to said Wall structure along the marginal extent of said opening, a relatively rigid plate member at one face of said Wall structure extending across said opening, a relatively rigid compression member at the opposite face of said Wall structure in opposing relationship to said plate member, each of said members having a groove along its periphery at the side adjacent said wall structure, and clamping means extending through said opening for pressing said members toward each other with said bead compressed in said grooves along the extent thereof to seal said opening, said clamping means comprising a closed-end internally threaded tubular rivet having a flange portion at the face of said plate member adjacent said opposing member and a shank portion upset by axial compression at the opposite face of said plate member, and a screw extending through said opposing member and said opening and having its shank threaded into said tubular rivet.

KARL E. FREUND. ELMER M. SCHARENBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 116,165 Kaufmann Aug. 15, 1939 1,216,771 Booth Feb. 20, 1917 1,340,236 Moehle May 18, 1920 1,480,782 Primeau Jan, 15, 1924 1,927,657 Evans Sept. 19, 1933 2,111,731 Reach Mar. 22, 1938 2,326,263 Steiner Aug. 10, 1943 2,406,708 Pepersack Aug. 27, 1946 2,457,066 Pepersack Dec. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 118,950 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1918 144,454 Great Britain June 17, 1920 45,170 Denmark Jan. 20, 1932 

